Bill, Friday July 12

Current status, what is and what is NOT:

Bill is sedated. So no, he is not awake. No, this is not an induced coma.  Today they changed to a 'lighter' sedation medicine.

Bill has a breathing tube. No, he is not on life support.

His kidneys are stressed. No, they are not failing. No, he is not on dialysis. No, he does not need a transplant.

A cardio study was done through ultrasound, and there were no problems (no valve problems, no fluid around the heart).

A liver/gall bladder study was also done, and was clear (no problems).

He was taken off the drug study. If he was getting the actual drug rather than the placebo, then extra iron would be sent to the kidneys and they don't need that stress right now.

Technically, he had a hemorrhagic stroke, assumed to be from high blood pressure.

Fluid continues to drain from his brain. There is no timeframe on how long this will continue (yes, we would love to know too). Therefore, we have no idea when he will come off the various tubes, have less sedation, and "wake up." And we don't know what is function will be, although we're thrilled he has movement on both sides of his body.

Sure we all cry. (Me, his wife, his daughter, sisters...). The guys tend to be pretty dang quiet.

By the way, has everyone done an advance directive? Get on it!